Sunday, November 05, 2006

Sister of Mercy - Temple of Love

The Sisters of Mercy are a rock band that emerged out of the British post punk scene in 1980-1981. After achieving early underground and Goth fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output as a strike against their record company. Currently, the band is kept alive as a touring outfit only.

The group have recorded three original studio albums, of which the last was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up, singer and songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machines called Doktor Avalanche being the only points of continuity.

The group ceased recording activity in 1994, when they went on strike against their record company TimeWarner, which it accused of withholding royalties and incompetence. Although TimeWarner eventually let the band go in 1997, they have not signed to another label, and have chosen not to go the "independent label" route, despite showcasing numerous new songs in their live set.

Since 1985, when other original members left, The Sisters of Mercy became the artistic vehicle of Andrew Eldritch. Some ex-members of the group established bands Ghost Dance and UK band The Mission.